


To Know and Accept

by xAcexOfxHeartsx



Category: Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius
Genre: Angst, Canon-Compliant, Drabble, Gen, Off-screen Character Death, Off-screen Child Death, Tragedy, canon character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 02:40:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20332699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xAcexOfxHeartsx/pseuds/xAcexOfxHeartsx
Summary: There is no way out of this. Olive knows that. She is twelve and she is going to die. She knows that too and she accepts it.





	To Know and Accept

**Author's Note:**

> Before somebody comes at me and says Olive isn't a child, I have to disagree. She's literally described on the gamepedia "as a young girl" and then as a "quiet little girl" in her background story. So the only conclusion I can get from that is that she's not an adult but neither is she (quite) a little kid. And so, based on that, I would place her at maybe pre-teens to early teens. 
> 
> And so that is why I put "off-screen child death" in the tags as a warning. It may be off-screen, but we know it happens. And that is also why I rated this as teen and up audiences.

She is twelve and she is going to die. She knows that and she accepts it. She tells her comrades to go, that she’ll cover their retreat. She hands her journal off to one of them, asking that it be taken care of, to give it to another gunner who could make use of her notes. If she is going to die, then she wanted to make sure her journal was in another’s capable hands. It pained her to know that she’ll die so young and with so much unfinished. It pained the young girl to know that she would never see any of her friends and what remained of her family again. She had to swallow past the lump in her throat at the thought.

_I’ll not cry_, she chided herself. She is too old for that now and crying will not solve anything. It will not fix this mess. Almost as though from a distance, she can hear one of her fellows protest this decision. _Holly_, her mind supplies. The young gunner, a few years older than herself, argues that she should reconsider and Olive finds herself shaking her head, a sign that she will not. “There is no other way,” the green-haired girl murmured quietly though somehow her voice carries. “If we _all_ attempt to flee, they’ll be upon us faster than you can say Leviathan.”

“But—!” Holly tries again, but Olive raises her own voice and continues, “But if one of us stays behind, then the others will have time to get away.” She looks at each of them. “It _has_ to be me. It _must_ be me. Of all those in this gunner’s division, I am the most skilled and most capable to do this.” It was not a boast, but rather the truth. Out of everyone in this division, she was the one who excelled at it the most. There was a reason she was called the ace of the gunners. “We have no choice.” _I have no choice._

She looks at each of them, some of them around her age, a few older than her, even some who are almost adults, all of them resigned and reluctant, frightened even. She understands why. None of them want to die. None of them want her to sacrifice herself to give them all a fighting chance. But all of them understand there’s no other option. No miracle was coming to save them. No one was coming to help them. “We have no choice,” Olive reiterates softly.

Holly’s eyes water, she opens her mouth to protest, but she snaps it shut and nods, jaw set. “Give them hell, Olive.” She turns to the others and tells them to move out. The course decided. There was no going back now. What happens today would not and could not be undone. History will march on and the young cannoneer knows, in her heart, that this battle will be forgotten. That _she_ will be forgotten. Despite her squadron's efforts to ensure otherwise. In her heart, she knows that. 

Eventually, Olive stands alone on that battlefield and the fear and sadness come at her full force. The tears come and she slaps a hand to her mouth, muffling her sobs, her small shoulders shaking. _I don’t want to die._ But she will. She has to. She cannot avoid this final confrontation no matter how much her heart screams at her to do so. She refuses to let any more harm come to her squad. The tears slowly, but surely come to a stop. She is ashamed that her emotions got the best of her, that she cried when se told herself that she would not. She wipes her eyes and her face with the back of her hand. She takes some calming breaths and she feels somewhat better for it. Finally...finally, she sets her face into a blank expression as she whirls around. She pulls her googles over her eyes and she lifts Sparky.

She is twelve and she is going to die. But if she can buy time for her comrades to escape, then her death will be one without regrets. 

**Author's Note:**

> Olive is my favorite unit in this game and her story is just tragic. As a result, it wasn't easy to write this. but I wanted to get inside her head, to give her character, to write that last moment between her squadron and before she goes off to battle for the final time. I don't know if I succeeded or not, but I tried my best.
> 
> I decided to give a name to one of Olive's fellow gunners and I chose 'Holly' because I like that name. 
> 
> Comments are always welcomed as is constructive criticism.


End file.
